Measure 91, a voter-approved initiative legalizing marijuana in Oregon, takes effect July 1st and will immediately allow for adult possession and home cultivation. The law permits adults 21 and older to grow four plants and keep eight ounces at home, and possess one ounce in public. Public consumption and sales will continue to remain illegal. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission, the agency charged with regulating marijuana in the state, will begin to accept applications for cultivation, processing, testing, and retail business licenses starting January 4th, 2016, and businesses are expected to be operational later the same year. More time was allotted to create specific regulations for concentrates to ensure the best possible public safety outcome, so these products will likely not be available immediately when stores open.

“Expending law enforcement resources by going after nonviolent marijuana users is a shameful waste of time and tax dollars, and a distraction from what’s really plaguing neighborhoods,” said Maj. Neill Franklin (Ret.), executive director for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), a criminal justice group opposed to the drug war. “Cops in Oregon can now get into doing their jobs; protecting communities and helping victims of violent crimes get justice.”

“Oregon still has more to do to ensure marijuana legalization is done properly; lawmakers and regulators are currently working to expunge the records of many non-violent marijuana offenders as well as develop proper regulations for taxes, concentrates, and labeling for consumer and child protection,” saidInge Fryklund, former prosecutor, Oregon resident, and board member LEAP. “We must promote honest and accurate public information along with sensible regulations. Oregon can and will be a model for future states looking to consider legalization in 2016 and beyond.”

23 States and the District of Columbia have legalized some form of medical marijuana access, while 4 states have decided to legalize and regulate adult use generally. Oregon’s regulatory model will be developed with Colorado and Washington’s previous successes and failures in mind. Among the priorities of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission are preventing accidental ingestion by children with the use of appropriate childproof packaging and ensuring that extracts, concentrates, and edibles are carefully regulated, tested, and labeled.

Last Wednesday, June 24th, the Oregon House passed HB 3400, by a vote of 52-4, which addresses several points of contention. The bill created a tracking system for monitoring plants from seed to retail sales, which will help deter the drug from the illegal market and ensure accountability for businesses with inferior or contaminated products. It also permits jurisdictions where at least 55% of voters disapproved Measure 91 to opt out of issuing marijuana related business licenses. HB 3400 also expunges many marijuana-related offenses from criminal records, which will affect tens of thousands of Oregonians. The bill will now advance to the Senate.

Tuesday, June 30 at 2pm PT U.S. Congressman Earl Blumenauer will speak at the Portland ACLU for a legalization launch event to focus on the importance of marijuana legalization nationwide and what to expect for the future of the drug policy reform. For more information, contact Nicole L’Esperance. 202-225-4811 or Nicole.lesperance@mail.house.gov.

Anthony Johnson, Chief Petitioner for Measure 91, co-wrote the measure, spearheaded the campaign, and has been working on marijuana legalization for more than a decade. He can be reached at 503-752-3966 for comments.

LEAP is committed to ending decades of failed policy that have created underground markets and gang violence, fostered corruption and racism, and largely ignored the public health crisis of addiction.

WASHINGTON, DC – A bipartisan amendment to the Fiscal Year 2016 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations spending bill that prohibits DEA and Department of Justice funds from being used to interfere in states that have legalized medical marijuana passed the House today by a margin of 242-186.The amendment is a renewal of the one that passed in May of last yearand was reintroduced by Representatives Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Sam Farr (D-CA). A similar amendment was also passed protecting states that have allowed industrial hemp. Yesterday, the House passed an amendment to ban the DEA’s bulk data collection program and slashed the DEA budget by $23 million. Instead, that money will now go to combat child abuse, improve the testing of rape kits, expand the use of body cameras on police officers, and reduce the deficit.

“Even Congress is now acknowledging the failures of the drug war and of the DEA and its invasive methods,” said Major Neill Franklin (Ret.), executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. “Conservatives believe states have the right to decide their own rules, libertarians understand prohibition infringes upon civil liberties, and liberals know the effect prohibition has had on racial minorities, families, and communities.”

A separate amendment introduced by Representatives Tom McClintock (R-CA) and Jared Polis (D-CO) that would have prevented the DEA from undermining state rights in places that have legalized marijuana narrowly failed by a vote of 206-222.

“Continued protection for medical marijuana patients is something most politicians now agree upon, and we can expect that states’ recreational marijuana laws will soon have the same level of protection against federal interference,” said Lieutenant Commander Diane Goldstein (Ret.)

In August 2013, the Justice Department released a memorandum stating that the DOJ would no longer go after states that chose to legalize and regulate marijuana, as long as those states prohibited access to children, limited the involvement of organized criminal activity in the industry, and abided by other reasonable standards.

Currently, 23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana and four states along with D.C. have legalized marijuana outright. According to the centrist think tank Third Way, 67% of Americansbelieve Congress should pass a bill to protect states from federal interference if they choose to legalize marijuana, so long as a strong regulatory system is in place.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition is a group of law enforcement officers opposed to the War on Drugs.